Hossein Sadegh Abedin, the Governor of Fars Province has announced plans to construct a research nuclear reactor in the vicinity of Zarghan, which is located 15 kilometres north of Shiraz, the provincial capital.

ISNA reports that that the governor said construction of the light-water nuclear reactor will soon commence.

He added that the plan is aimed at "speeding up agricultural research in the province."

The head of Iran's Atomic Agency, Fereydoon Abbasi, had reported earlier that the budget for this project would be provided from "national resources, and once it is cleared, the reactor would come into fruition within three to five years."